The Mighty Semi-Finalist

I recently discovered I was named a semi-finalist in the 2007 Black Lawrence Press Black River Poetry Chapbook Competition. (I'm the one who wrote The House that Falls Down. Yep, right there in the semi-finalist category.

I figure as long as not everyone who entered the contest made it to the semi-finals, this means I am not a total and complete loser. In fact, this puts me only steps away from being the winner, really. It also gives me the goose I need to go ahead and revise that chapbook, which is a collection of poems on war. I was going to abandon it, but perhaps there's something to salvage there after all...besides, my brother (a Marine recently returned from tours in Iraq and Afghanistan) liked them. So yes, mental note, dust it off, work it up.

I also just submitted two new chapbook collections to Black Lawrence, in hopes sending my *really* good stuff will wow them, and push me into the finalist (ahem, or winner) category. Here's to hoping that my chapbooks Carving Your Name and Summers in BayShore are well-received!